Nick "Lesona" Johnson is an esports journalist with a focus on CS:GO and the OWL. His interest for esports started with CS:S and grew into a career as both an esports writer and an avid fan, giving him a unique perspective on both the casual and professional scenes. Twitter: @Lesona_

In a heartfelt video today, 100 Thieves CEO Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag revealed today that 100 Thieves will no longer field a team in professional Call of Duty. The news comes on the heels of the reveal of the franchising plan for next years Call of Duty World League following the successful franchising of Activision Blizzard’s other competitive IP, Overwatch.

It is with a very heavy heart we announce that 100 Thieves will not be participating in competitive Call of Duty in 2020. pic.twitter.com/cdJD9DdUvQ

“It’s a really unfortunate situation… We will not be fielding a roster. Not only are there a lot of upfront costs, but there are a lot of operational costs that we’ll be spending money on and resources on for years. We are not equipped and not prepared to make that jump and make that decision.”

Haag goes on to say that “it is possible that with the CDL there’s a very good possibility that 100 Thieves would cease to exist in the way that we want it to.” Much of Haag’s explanation revolves around the costs associated with running a Call of Duty League franchise, as well the requirement for teams that enter the CDL to rebrand. “…100 Thieves, at the end of the day, is [the] number one priority – the brand itself,” continued an emotional Haag.

The Future is Grim

Over the past few weeks, the Call of Duty scene has seen several stalwarts of Call of Duty competition decide to exit the scene rather than purchase a franchise in the new geolocated league starting in 2020. 100 Thieves now counts themselves among Evil Geniuses as the most recent team to decide to scrap their Call of Duty plans for the coming years instead of franchise.

The sudden reluctance of Call of Duty-focused organizations to participate in Activision Blizzard’s franchising plans doesn’t bode well for the new league. As of now, Activision has only announced seventeams that will participate in the league:

Atlanta

Dallas (Team Envy)

New York

Toronto (Overactive Media)

Paris

Los Angeles (OpTic)

Minnesota (Wise Ventures)

ESTNN will update this article with more information as it becomes available.